Educators have long known that children can more easily grasp abstract concepts when such concepts are embodied in teaching aids that a child can physically manipulate. A well-designed teaching aid may clarify conceptual relationships and can help a child learn and remember a lesson by repetitively working through a concept in a simplified, step-by-step fashion. To accomplish this, an effective teaching aid engages and holds a child's interest by being simple enough for the child to understand, challenging enough to be worth several attempts, and enjoyable enough to become a play object.
Clock time is one of the key abstract concepts that every child must learn to become a functioning adult. Many different clock-based teaching aids have been developed, ranging from simple clock faces with moveable hands to more complex devices that attempt to convey concepts such as time before and after an hour (“quarter 'til,” “half-past,” etc.) with color-coding and/or moving dials that reveal hidden numerical scales. Unfortunately, operation of the most complex devices presumes the level of understanding for which the child strives, often making use of the device an exercise in frustration. Conversely, the simplest devices may accurately simulate clock operation but are not interesting enough to hold a child's attention. What is needed is a teaching clock that combines the simplicity of a basic clock face with features that engage a child's interest long enough to make clock operation memorable.
The present invention engages and holds a child's interest with a teaching clock having a base containing a recessed circle that holds a plurality of differently-colored, removable wedges, which, when assembled, form a disk. Each radial edge of each wedge has an opening that aligns with a similar opening on an adjacent wedge to create a hole in which a removable number block may be placed. Number blocks are numbered one through twelve and arrayed in clock fashion around the face of the disk. Long and short pointers simulate clock hands. A child may repeatedly assemble and disassemble the removable parts in the manner of a puzzle and operate the clock hands to understand and reinforce time-telling concepts.
These features and advantages of the present invention, and more, are illustrated below in the drawings and detailed description that follow.